February 25, 2022 – Ontario says it will introduce changes that would help workers in over 30 in-demand professions move to the province and continue their careers.

“At a time when our government is building Ontario, it’s never been more important that we attract more workers to fill in-demand jobs,” said Premier Doug Ford. “To do so, we’re cutting red tape to make it easier for skilled professionals from across Canada to get the papers they need to work in Ontario, faster.”

If passed, the changes would tackle the province’s “historic labour shortage—the largest in a generation”—by ensuring out-of-province workers can register in their regulated profession or trade within 30 days.

Unfilled jobs cost the province billions in lost productivity, says the government, adding that between July and September of 2021, there were 338,835 vacant jobs across Ontario, including many in the skilled trades.

“There are hundreds of thousands of paycheques waiting to be collected,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, noting he keeps hearing from businesses that they “can’t find the workers they need to grow”.

“[We] want more skilled professionals and tradespeople to come here,” McNaughton said.

The province’s new agency, Skilled Trades Ontario, is harmonizing training standards for a dozen trades, adds the government, to make it easier for apprentices from other provinces to continue their training in Ontario.

Ontario is also working toward making it easier for those who have completed fall protection training in another province to work in Ontario. They would be able to start work immediately after completing a refresher course from an accredited provincial provider.